Sabattus man jailed for lying about crash

AUBURN – A Sabattus man was sentenced Tuesday to 90 days in jail for lying to police about a fatal hit-and-run snowmobile accident on Sabattus Lake nearly two years ago.

Robert Cyr, 35, pleaded guilty last month to a misdemeanor charge of hindering apprehension or prosecution in connection with the December 2002 accident that killed Robert Levesque.

Before Justice Robert Crowley issued the sentence in Androscoggin County Superior Court, Cyr faced Levesque’s wife and children. He acknowledged his mistake the night of Dec. 29, 2002, when he chose not to tell police that it was his brother-in-law, Steven Davies, who hit Levesque on the frozen lake while traveling 70 mph on a snowmobile.

“But my main concern was trying to help your husband,” Cyr said, looking straight at Levesque’s widow, Patricia. “I am just saying from my heart that I am truly sorry.”

The accident occurred on a cold, windy night as Levesque, 59, was taking his usual walk on Sabattus Lake.

That’s when Cyr and Davies decided to take their snowmobiles across the lake to their family’s camp.

Cyr went ahead of Davies and was already at the camp when Davies crashed into Levesque. After the collision, Davies drove to the camp and told Cyr that he had hit something.

Cyr drove back on the lake and found Levesque lying on the ice surrounded by snowmobile parts. He put Levesque on his snowmobile and drove about a half-mile to Levesque’s home.

Cyr told Patricia Levesque that he had just happened to find her husband while riding on the lake, then he gave investigators the same story as he led them to the scene and helped them photograph the evidence.

Investigators didn’t identify Davies as a suspect until about six hours later when they found a piece of broken windshield showing a registration number for a snowmobile in his name.

By that time, it was too late to determine whether Davies had been intoxicated at the time of the crash. Without knowing that information, state prosecutors did not feel they had enough evidence to convict Davies of manslaughter.

Instead, Davies was sentenced in July to 364 days in jail after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge of failing to report the accident as soon as it happened.

Levesque’s family members have been outspoken about their belief that Cyr is as responsible for Levesque’s death as Davies is.

“You had a chance to be a hero. We will never know the outcome of a different choice on your part,” Levesque’s daughter, Michelle Lajoie, said to Cyr on Tuesday. “By choosing to protect Steven Davies, you robbed my dad and my family of any hope.”

Cyr could have been sentenced to up to 364 days in jail, but Crowley said he chose a shorter sentence in part because he doesn’t believe Cyr and Davies deserve equal punishments.

“It is undeniable that the conduct of Mr. Davies was far more egregious than the conduct of Mr. Cyr,” Crowley said.